See the eclipse at Chipping Norton

When the skies turn dark in the Banbury Guardian area tomorrow, Friday, amateur astronomers will be out in force in Chipping Norton.

Chipping Norton Amateur Astronomy Group (CNAAG) will be taking part in BBC’s Stargazing Live and will be observing the solar eclipse in the town centre.

“The sun is probably the most dangerous object to look at in the sky. If you don’t have special equipment, project the image onto a piece of card and never look up at the eclipse.”

Robin Smitten, CNAAG chair

The eclipse will see 86 per cent of the sun obscured by the moon, with first contact at around 8.30am. The sun will be covered at around 9.33am and the moon will have completely left the sun by 10.28am.

CNAAG will have eight telescopes which will be trained at the sun, through filters, with the image projected. There will also be people on standby with special equipment which will allow people to look at the eclipse.

CNAAG chair Robin Smitten said: “You will be able to see sunspots in complete safety. It will be spectacular.

“The weather outlook is improving. We have our fingers crossed.”

There will also be a live feed of the eclipse from Chipping Norton on YouTube.

Mr Smitten added it was important to take care during the eclipse and warned it was not safe to look directly at it.

“The sun is probably the most dangerous object to look at in the sky,” he said. “If you don’t have special equipment, project the image onto a piece of card and never look up at the eclipse. Don’t trust anyone who tells you that you can look at it through 35mm film or dark plastic sheeting.

“Also, go online – there is so much information now. You will always find proper advice and at the end of the day, you can always get in contact with us.”